Sailor Neptune: Origins
by Squirrel holding a bazooka
Summary: We all know how Haruka became a senshi, but what about Michiru? What changed her to become so cold and calculating, willing to sacrifice a civilian? And what made her love art and the violin so much?


I don't own Sailor Moon. Please note that in the first chapter or two, Michiru will be almost nothing like she is in the anime or manga. This is a character development story about the events that _lead up_ to how she acts in the canon. So, yes, by the end of the fic, Michiru will be the version that people know her as.

* * *

Michiru, a girl of fifteen years with unusually-colored teal hair stood impatiently before a music stand, a violin uncomfortably trapped between her shoulder and her cheek. The bow glided across the strings gracefully, causing a melancholy tune to come from it. She looked more like a flower girl than a teenager in the light blue dress with tiny, lilac-colored flowers on it. A white, lace collar completed the dress. The Mary-Janes and white stockings caused her to look at least three years younger than she actually was.

She finished her ballad with a single, long note, and a soft clapping could be heard throughout the living room. Margret Kaioh, her shiny, brown hair pulled back into a perfect bun, walked up to her daughter, her high heels clacking on the glossy wooden floor over to the corner Michiru was standing in.

"Mom, can I go call Juro-kun now?" Michiru asked in a desperate, whiny tone.

"One more set, Michiru," Margret replied, patting her daughter on the head like she was a pet.

"You said that before the last set," Michiru whined.

"Well, the guests are still here, so you will play," Margret said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Michiru sighed and positioned her violin again, playing yet another song with a reluctant smile on her face. Her eyes roamed around at the guests looking at the art on the walls of the studio, lights shining down perfectly to accent each painting. There was a sculpture here or there, but they hardly held the artistic integrity that the paintings had.

She couldn't help but hate them all. They were keeping her there, away from her boyfriend and preventing her from getting sleep before her first day of tenth grade. Not to mention the fact that she had to get up early tomorrow for cheerleading practice.

Would anyone notice if she just put that dreadful violin down and stepped away from the boring paintings? Yeah, her mother would notice, without a doubt, and she couldn't have that if she wanted to be on the Kindai Osaka Tigers Cheerleading Team. Margret Kaioh had been looking for a way to pull her daughter out since the day she tried out.

And so, Michiru reluctantly played until one in the morning, when the gala finally ended and she was allowed to go home with her mother. She walked into her bathroom, pulling her hair out of its bun to reveal loose waves. She shook a tired hand through her hair and looked up into the mirror. Instantly, she gasped and pulled back, tripping over the rug behind her and falling onto her butt. She let out a cry of pain as her back hit the edge of the tub and slowly got up, rubbing the small of her back.

"Ow..." she muttered, distracted for a moment. Then, she slowly removed her hands from her back and warily approached the mirror. She pushed her hair aside and stared at the reflection of her forehead. The mark was gone, nothing was there at all. It was just her tired mind playing tricks on her... right?

A knock on her window dismissed any thoughts of the mark, and she rushed out of her bathroom and over to her bedroom window. She pulled the blinds back and opened the window, revealing her boyfriend, Juki Juro. "Hi," she whispered, a bright smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing you," Juro grinned, placing a kiss upon Michiru's lips.

"It's two in the morning," Michiru giggled.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to see you one last time before school starts," Juro explained.

"Why are you so sweet?" Michiru smiled, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend. She leaned in towards the hug, her head resting on Juro's shoulder.

* * *

Michiru leapt backwards, throwing her body around in a back flip. She landed with ease, her hands in the air, white and orange pompoms waving wildly. "Let's go tigers, let's go!" the simple cheer rang out from the cheerleaders.

As the cheer finished, the captain, Naoki, stepped forward, clapping lightly. "Alright, alright, great first practice, everyone!" she encouraged. "The first game is next Friday; make sure your uniform is clean and you bring your pep! Practice is over for the day!" The cheerleaders began going to the bleachers where their bags waited, more than happy to leave after the hours they spent practicing. "Oh- and don't forget to have your parents sign those consent forms!" Naoki's voice came a few seconds after her initial speech.

"Hey, Michiru-chan," a voice behind the teal-haired girl came. Michiru turned to see a twelfth-grader, Skylar, the only male on the squad, running up to her.

"Hey, Skylar-kun," Michiru smiled. "What's up?"

"Your mom gave me a call; she wants me to drive you home today," he explained.

"Oh, I don't want to trouble you. I can just get a ride home with Juro-kun-"

"She insisted," Skylar explained, placing a hand on Michiru's back to gently guide her. This time, Michiru complied, getting to his car just outside in the East parking lot in almost no time. Skylar got in the driver's seat, Michiru taking shotgun, and they took off.

After about ten or twenty minutes of driving, Michiru pointed to the street up ahead. "That's me," she told him, but Skylar did not slow down, did not turn, did not even acknowledge that she said anything. "Uh, Skylar-kun... you missed the turn."

Still, he did not reply, instead staring the road down like some sort of mortal enemy.

Michiru's stomach tied up in knots. She'd seen this movie before. She would wind up in a ditch somewhere, her body likely being found within one or two weeks due to the age of the killer. "Skylar-san, stop the car," she said, going directly to the formalities. She looked forward, watching Skylar out of the corner of her eye as he watched her.

Once again, she was ignored.

Pursing her lips, Michiru unbuckled her seat belt and pulled at the car door's handle, slamming her body against it. She had planned to roll out of the car, but it refused to open.

"Are you out of your mind?" Skylar demanded, resisting the urge to slam on the brakes. "Put your seat belt back on; you're going to get yourself killed!"

"Like you aren't?" Michiru asked worriedly, backed up against the door of the car.

Skylar sighed at her pulled off the road, slowing to a stop. Looking around, Michiru realized she had let him get far enough away from the city that hardly any cars passed by. Even worse, they were near a steep, rocky hill that went down to a lake. "Come on," he said, unlocking the car and getting out.

Michiru worked like lightning, hopping out of the car and running around behind it, hoping to get away from her attacker. However, Skylar saw this coming and was there to stop her, grabbing her arms.

"Michiru-chan, calm down!" he yelled at her, making her shrink back in fear. "I'm not going to kill you."

"Then what are we doing here?" she asked warily. "It's fairly obvious that my mother didn't call you."

"I'm a guardian," Skylar explained.

"Of what?"

"This planet."

Michiru stared at the man before her, wondering just how crazy he was.

"I was destined to protect this planet from an evil prince, Endymion, and his lover, the moon princess, Serenity," Skylar told her in a cool, calm voice. "Two of the planetary soldiers, Sailor Pluto and Sailor Venus, have already been contacted by the ancient power and tricked into joining the darkness. I'm trying to gather the others before it's too late."

"What does that have to do with me?" Michiru asked, still eying Skylar warily.

"Everything," Skylar replied. "You are Sailor Neptune."

Michiru raised an eyebrow at the man before her. "Are you crazy?" she suddenly asked. "Planetary soldiers? A mysterious darkness trying to take over Earth? Moon princess?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me," Skylar said. He handed her a teal pen with a navy blue top in the shape of the symbol of Neptune. "Just take it and say 'Neptune Power, Make-Up.'"

Slowly, Michiru grasped it, the words she was told to speak coming out of her mouth in nothing more than a whisper. But still, she felt the power wash over her like the clear, blue ocean. She glanced down at her outfit, and there stood... herself. Well, herself in a new outfit. A white bodysuit with teal skirt adorned her body, navy front and back bows adding to the image. Teal ballet flats and round button fastener at the front bow completed the look with the white, mid-forearm-length gloves. She felt something cold on her forehead, and when she raised a hand to touch the skin there, her fingers came in contact with a golden tiara swooping across her forehead with a teal gem in the center.

"How?" she asked.

"Magic," Skylar explained. "You need to train, to fight the senshi that betrayed this solar system."

There was a brief moment of hesitation before... "Okay."

Training was simplistic, but brutal. Michiru left school after cheerleading practice every day and went straight to the lake to train. But her efforts proved fruitful, as within two weeks, she was stronger, faster, more powerful... _much_ more powerful.

"How is this possible?" Sailor Neptune asked Skylar in shock one afternoon as the climbed back up the hill after their training session. "Shouldn't becoming powerful with such a strong control over it take more time? I mean, not that I'm opposed; it's just... weird."

"Well-" Skylar was interrupted by a crash from way down the road. Both teens turned quickly to the crash, fearful for what might have caused it. There, they saw a giant, lion-like creature rushing down the road.

"What the hell is that?" Sailor Neptune demanded, fear in her eyes. She looked to her mentor for advice.

"That's a youma," Skylar explained. "This is your chance to prove yourself. Fight it. Kill it."

"What?" Sailor Neptune asked, the shock evident in her voice. "I-I've never fought before!"

"You have to start somewhere," Skylar told her, giving her a gentle shove forward. "Remember what I taught you."

Hesitantly, reluctantly, Sailor Neptune worked her way forward. She gained a fighting stance, right in the path of the youma. "Hey!" she called, causing it to stop and stare at her. "Leave them alone, or I'll... destroy... you." Her introduction was awkward, at best. She was not sure of herself, not strong, not a fighter. Not yet.

The youma charged at her, and Sailor Neptune leapt up, easily clearing the youma as she jumped. She landed behind it and turned around to face her enemy. "Neptune Splash!" she called out, causing water to pop up out of nowhere and surround the youma in a bubble. Her arms were shaking as she tried to maintain the barrier, the youma fighting against it like there was no tomorrow. Ultimately, the creature plowed through, straight towards Sailor Neptune. Within a second, she was trapped underneath the creature, wriggling underneath it in a desperate attempt to escape.

"Sailor V," the youma growled out in a screechy, automated voice.

Neptune reached her hand out, barely managing to grasp a fallen tree branch. She tightened her grip around it, stabbing it into the youma's neck. The creature pulled back, crying out in pain. Once again, the senshi of the seas yelled, "Neptune Splash!" This time, the now-weakened beast discintigrated.

Sailor Neptune fell backwards, transforming back into Michiru as she did. Skylar was at her side in an instant, picking her up and carrying her back to his car.

Kaioh Margret was much less worried than a mother should have been upon seeing her daughter being carried in by a strange man. Instead, she waved him away while he told her that her daughter had fallen during cheerleading practice, instead getting back to her phone call.

Oh well. It made Skylar's job a bit easier. The man carried the blunette up to her room- or at least what he assumed was her room- and laid her down on the bed. "Good night, Princess Amphitrite," he whispered before leaving the house.

The second he left, Michiru's eyes opened, and she slowly got out of her bed to walk over to her desk. She opened the laptop that sat atop the desk and opened Safari.

In the search bar, she typed in _Sailor Venus_. Even if she was evil now, a jump in power similar to her own would show, wouldn't it?

_Did you mean "Sailor V"?_ the computer asked her.

Michiru complied, thinking of the only two words the beast had spoken to her, and clicked on the first news article. _Once again, Sailor V saves the day in Tokyo,_ she read. _It seems that even the appearance of a new hero, Kaiotu Ace, our favorite little blonde heroine is up for a fight. Appearing three months ago, Sailor V has been nothing but helpful-_

Michiru cut herself off right there. Sailor V, Sailor Venus, it really wasn't that hard to figure out, especially if you knew the secret. But if she had really been helpful to Tokyo and fought youma like her... could she really be all that bad?

It was all Michiru could do to not fall asleep that evening. She was tired, no, exhausted, from fighting the youma, but she knew that if she didn't do this tonight, she never would. All she had to do was wait for her parents to fall asleep, and then she would be able to sneak out.

And that's how Michiru found herself at the lake, dressed in her Sailor Neptune uniform, wandering through the surrounding forest. "Skylar-kun!" she called out, looking around. She silenced herself, wanting the element of surprise if he was there.

"Oh great goddess, Chaos, I have almost converted the senshi of Neptune," a voice said, and Sailor Neptune hid behind a tree, peeking out to see Skylar kneeling in front of a campfire. In the fire, she saw a dark being of some sort. "She thinks the other two senshi are evil. She killed a guardian today. It was trying to find her, but I got to her first."

"Excellent," a feminine voice bellowed from the fire.

Sailor Neptune gasped audibly and hid behind the tree again.

"Who's there?" Skylar demanded, standing and turning around. "Come out or I'll kill you here and now!"

Reluctantly, Sailor Neptune came out of her hiding place to face her so-called mentor. "You said that Sailor Venus and Sailor Pluto are evil, but everyone in Tokyo thinks Sailor V is good," she stated simply.

Trying to avoid the obvious fact that he had been caught, Skylar said, "Propaganda arranged by the senshi. They're nothing but evil lowlifes."

"That lion-thing was supposed to be my guardian," Sailor Neptune continued. "It was trying to find me, trying to help me. You had me kill it."

"Michiru-chan, I don't-"

"Who are you?" Sailor Neptune demanded.

Skylar's concerned look turned to a devilish grin as he realized there was no getting out of this. "I'm Skylar, protector of the skies, apprentice to the Elementals. We'd love to have you on our side, Michiru-chan."

"And work with some fire-being named 'Chaos'? No thanks," Michiru replied, realization truly setting in that she had been tricked. "Why?"

"Because you were so far away from all your friends," Skylar explained. "And they'll never be there for you. You will be forced to fight alone... but if you join us, you'll have friends, companions-"

"I'd rather be alone than work for a bunch of murderers," Sailor Neptune accused. "That's it, isn't it? All these disappearances? The people showing up dead from exhaustion? It was you."

"Michiru-chan, this is your last chance-"

"Leave!"

Skylar only chuckled. "Oh, Michiru-chan... you should have accepted." With that, Skylar lunged at Sailor Neptune, who just barely dove out of the way.

"Neptune Splash!" she called out towards Skylar. It had absolutely no effect on him.

"Michiru-chan, it doesn't work that way. You really think I would have taught you to defeat me before you were on our side?" Skylar asked with a smirk.

Wind rushed around Sailor Neptune to the point that she was nearly blinded, her skin getting whipped and slashed by the sharp speeds. She forced herself to open her eyes, and she saw a blur charging at her. In order to get out of its way, she merely allowed herself to fall down. The blur soared over her, and she heard screams of pain as the wind subsided.

Slowly, Sailor Neptune looked up and behind her, where she saw the remains of Skylar being burned away.

The battle won, in a sense, she began to stumble back up the hill, praying that a car would come. Her prayers were answered as she saw a pair of headlights approaching her. She stuck one arm out, walking into the road a bit, her other arm wrapped around her torn and bloodied stomach.

The screeching sound of tires was the last thing she heard before she passed out.

Sailor Neptune woke up slowly, her tired body resisting any movement. She let out a soft moan, alerting the other person to her presence.

"Are you okay?" a kind voice asked.

Michiru smelled paint. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see a man about five or ten years older than herself. He had some dark blue paint smeared on his forehead, but he was rather handsome. "I'm, I'm..."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Kaioh Michiru," she answered instinctively, forgetting her secret identity.

"And who's the prime minister of Japan?"

"Noda Yoshihiko."

"Good," the man replied, nodding slowly. "What happened to you, kid? You shouldn't be out at night, much less covered in blood... were you in a gang fight or something? It's getting pretty territorial in Osaka."

"No, no, I just had a falling out with a former boyfriend," Sailor Neptune replied.

"Well, if that guy was abusing you, I'm glad you got away," he said. "Uh, my name is Tadashi Sora."

"It's nice to meet you, Sora-san," Michiru replied in a slightly slurred voice. The battle must have taken a lot out of her.

"I... I hope you don't mind, but seeing you here kind of... inspired me," Sora said. Sailor Neptune looked past him to see a painting of herself in her Sailor Neptune costume, though in the painting it was clean and pristine. She stood holding a mirror in one hand, and the reflection showed a girl identical to herself, but the symbol of Neptune shone upon her forehead instead of her tiara. She appeared to be in some sort of palace, but the main focus was the girl in the painting, her.

"Oh, uh... I don't mind," Michiru smiled softly, a gently blush dancing across her cheeks. "It's lovely."

Sora smiled. "It's easy to make a lovely painting when I have such a beautiful model," he told her. "Would you like to see more?"

"I'd love to."

Michiru looked at five or six individual paintings, each more stunning than the next, before she finally said, "They're gorgeous."

"That is the way of nature, of art," Sora told her. "So few people really stop to think about the world around them," he said as they looked at a painting of a cityscape. As their attention turned to a painting of a beggar feeding the birds, he continued, "People are just son concerned with themselves that they fail to recognize the world around them, where it's going, where it _could_ be going." They looked at a painting of a small clearing with a pond. The point of view was from the entrance of the clearing, so you could still see a few trees around you as opposed to just those in the background, beyond the clearing.

"It's amazing," Sailor Neptune breathed.

"Come on, let's go check on your wounds," Sora said, guiding her back to the couch. "You know, that's a horrible Sailor V costume. Where's the red?" he commented.

He peeled back the bandages and was stunned by what he saw. "Y-your wounds... they're gone." Realization dawned on him, and he looked up at the girl. "It's... not a costume, is it?"

"Thank you for taking care of me," Sailor Neptune said, giving Sora all the answer he needed. She kissed him on the cheek before heading over to the window, leaping out and from building to building, house to house after that.

* * *

A/N: Well, I loved writing this chapter. It made me feel like there's a deeper side to Michiru than the elegant warrior she's displayed as on Sailor Moon. I think this chapter presented her as almost Usagi-like, showing her impatience with her parents' social gatherings, her ignorance to the world around her, etc. I also wanted her to start out as straight and a hater of art and the violin, all of which will be changed by the end of this five-chapter story. I introduced the love of art with this first chapter, though she hasn't made her way to painting on her own just yet. Another big factor, I think, is the fact that by the time Michiru met Haruka, she was more than willing to kill a civilian if necessary. In this, she refused to join Skylar _because_ she thought he was a murderer. This will be addressed heavily in chapter three. The next chapter will include the introduction of Ezla, the girl who introduces Haruka and Michiru.

And seeing as I'm so close to getting four thousand words out of this chapter, I'm just going on. To be honest, I finished this chapter way back in late January 2012. I wanted to at least get chapter two done before I posted this to FFN, meaning that I will not post chapter two until I have chapter three done. However, you can go to my polyvore profile and read chapters as they are finished.


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